“Hi, boss.” Elle grinned.
“Nice place,” Megan said chirpily. “Minimalistic. But nice.”
Callum frowned at them. “Don’t you know how to knock?”
“We did. You didn’t answer,” Megan said. “Where were you, anyway? We’ve been right through the house.”
“Basement. And keep the noise down. Isobel and the kids are still asleep down there.”
The team shared a look.
“Uh, Callum, why do you have them in the basement when the bedrooms are up here?” Megan said, and then looked horrified. “Serial killers use basements. Please tell me that isn’t your killing ground? You haven’t been torturing kids down there, have you?”
“Babe,” Dimitri said with a shake of his head. “Ignore her,” he said to Callum. “Too much TV.”
“There are bedrooms down there?” Elle said. “I wondered what was behind the security access. I thought weapons. Just sayin’, if I’d had more time, I would have totally cracked that lock.”
“Good to know.” Callum leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb.
“It also explains why we don’t have any footage of you sleeping,” Elle said. “I was worried about that at first, then I thought you were camping outside.”
Callum just stared at her.
“PTSD.” Elle shrugged. The explanation made perfect sense to her. She’d even read up on the condition. If Callum had been sleeping outside, it wouldn’t have surprised her. She’d always thought he was untamed and belonged with the animals. “I thought maybe being inside made it hard to sleep.”
“Betty said someone told her I sleep in the nude,” Callum said.
Megan put up a hand. “That would have been me. I just wanted to shut her up.”
“Yeah, but it kind of backfired,” Ryan said. “She wanted to make more money, and thought watching you in the buff was a way to do it. She was mad when she couldn’t get it on camera.”
Callum zeroed in on Ryan and the room temperature dropped a few degrees. Elle shivered and was glad she wasn’t on the receiving end of that look. Ryan didn’t seem fazed. Either that or he was too focused on the doughnuts he’d picked up in Campbeltown to care.
“Explain,” Callum barked.
“She had someone hook up the live feed to her house and she’s been charging the old folk to watch,” Ryan said. “Lake only found out about it yesterday after a rumour went around town that Betty was showing live porn in exchange for pie and cake.” He pointed a doughnut at Callum. “She told Lake she wants to be thrown up against a wall.”
Callum didn’t move an inch, apart from the tiny muscle in the corner of his jaw that throbbed.
“Somebody should lob her at a wall. I hope you shut that crap down.” Callum’s voice was low and even, a sure sign he was about to blow.
For once, Ryan seemed to notice something other than food. “You did when you ripped out the cameras.”
There was silence. Callum stared at Ryan with a look that said he had better do something fast.
Ryan got the message. He stood, fishing his phone from his pocket. “I’ll get Lake onto it now. Make sure Betty didn’t save any footage or anything.”
The twitch in Callum’s jaw became more pronounced as Ryan left the room. He turned to Rachel. “Why are you all here? I only asked for one backup person. That’s what I’m paying for.”
“You aren’t paying for anything. Suggesting it is, frankly, insulting.” Rachel got to her feet. “You asked for help and you’re going to get it. Joe and Julia would have been here too, but we needed someone to look after the office.”
“I voted for Rachel,” Megan said, “but she overruled me. Something about wanting to keep an eye on the plane she was paying for. Honestly, you blow up one itsy-bitsy plane and you never hear the end of it.”
Rachel carried on talking as though Megan was invisible. “Once we’re finished here, we plan to drag your miserable, self-pitying behind back to London so you can fix the mess you left in your wake, when you ran away like a hysterical pre-schooler.”
“Subtle,” Megan coughed into her hand before attempting to look innocent.
For a second, Elle could have sworn she saw the walls undulate with the tension in the room. She waited for Callum to start shouting about how he didn’t need their help and how they should get lost. She could almost hear him saying, “Never darken my doorstep again.” But instead of shouting, there was silence. Heavy, uncomfortable silence.
And then a tiny voice piped up. “Clam?”
Every set of eyes in the room focused on the little girl who’d appeared at Callum’s feet. She wore a giraffe onesie and had a matching stuffed toy clutched to her chest. With the other hand, she rubbed at an eye. She was the most adorable thing Elle had ever seen and made her want to rush back to London and return with her own giraffe onesie so they would match.
“What?” Callum said gruffly. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
The girl shrugged and then held her arms up to Callum, obviously expecting him to lift her. The shock in the room was clear. Everyone waiting to see what he would do. For a second Callum looked completely bewildered, before his face turned carefully blank. He made no move for the child. And she was having none of it.
“Clam, up,” she demanded.
With an irritated growl, Callum bent and scooped the girl up. She burrowed against his chest and watched them all with big eyes. Callum was tense, his movements stiff. It was clear he wasn’t quite sure how to hold her. Eventually, he gave her back an awkward pat.
“I’m taking Sophie back to her mum. We’ll talk later. You can use any of the rooms up here.” Callum turned towards the door, but Sophie sat back and pointed at the table.
“Doughnuts!”
With a growl, Callum made a detour to the table. He lowered the child so she could grab a doughnut and then he strode for the door. Sophie grinned at them as she bit into the powdery treat.
“Did that just happen?” Megan stared after them.
“Wow,” Elle said.
“I think our boy is ready to come back,” Dimitri said. “I’m so proud. I almost have a tear in my eye.”
“Oh for the love of Prada,” Rachel said. “He picked up a child, he didn’t cure cancer.”
“Hey,” Ryan said as he came back into the room. “Who ate my doughnuts?”
CHAPTER 17
ISOBEL WAS FIXING BREAKFAST IN Callum’s bunker kitchen when he came striding in with Sophie in his arms. She was halfway through a giant doughnut.
“Doughnuts for breakfast? Really?”
“This isn’t breakfast. This is a pre-breakfast snack. Right?” Callum looked down at Sophie, who nodded.
Jack was sitting on the sofa in the living area, texting furiously. He didn’t look up from his phone. “I want a pre-breakfast snack. Or breakfast. Any food would be good.”
“You know how to use the kitchen,” Isobel told him. “If you’re in such a hurry, you can make your own food.”
“You don’t say that to Soph. That’s favouritism, that is,” Jack said.
Isobel ignored him and reached for her daughter.
She shook her head as she gnawed at the donut. “Stay, Clam.”
“That’s brilliant.” Jack snorted a laugh. “Hard shell. Brainless. Looks like snot. It’s the perfect name for him.”
“Jack!” Isobel glared at her son.
Callum cocked an eyebrow in Jack’s direction before placing Sophie on a kitchen chair. “You need to stay here. I have work to do.”
“Wanna go with Clam,” Sophie said.
“Callum,” Callum corrected. “And you can’t. You need to have breakfast.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but shut it when Callum shook his head.
“I wish she’d do that for me,” Isobel said.
Callum straightened and turned his attention on her, suddenly making her feel naked. Not a good feeling while she was in a room with her two children. His eyes darkened as though he could read her mind.
“You sleep okay?”
Isobel nodded. It had only been a couple of hours, but it’d been sound. “What’s with this basement, anyway? Was your granddad one of those doomsday people? Have you taken over where he left off? Are you sitting around down here waiting for the world to end? Is this what you’ve been doing all these months? You’ve been in here burrowing like a mole and preparing for Armageddon?”
“No.” His lips twitched as though he might risk a smile, but it passed, making Isobel crave hearing his deep, rich laughter again. “My grandfather was the mole. This is his panic room. He wanted one after I was captured in Iraq. He thought there should be a safe place for me if I ever needed one.”
She jerked back. “You were captured?”
“I was only held for a few days before my team got me out.”
Suddenly, the fact that the underground mini-apartment seemed more lived in than the house upstairs made a lot more sense. “This is where you live, isn’t it? You don’t sleep in the bed upstairs. That’s why it was so neat.” He’d been hiding. From life and from himself.
Callum cleared his throat. “My team, I mean, the security team I used to work with are here.” His voice was husky.
Isobel flushed and felt herself leaning towards him. Just hearing that tone made her skin ache to be touched. Which she shouldn’t allow. She stepped away from him.
“A whole team? I thought maybe one person.” She couldn’t risk any more people. She couldn’t. “I thought it was just one person coming to do you a favour.”
Callum dragged a hand through his hair, which made his T-shirt tighten over those impossibly buff shoulders of his. Why did he have to be so damn hot? It wasn’t fair. Where she had stretch marks on her stomach, he had washboard abs. Where she had cellulite on her thighs, she was sure he had only toned muscle. She was at least ten pounds overweight and had given up on ever losing it, whereas he looked like there wasn’t an ounce of fat anywhere on him. It wasn’t fair. Why did she have to crave the touch of a man who made David Beckham look ordinary?
“I don’t understand why they’re all here.” Callum’s tone was even, which made her pay closer attention. She got the feeling that whatever he was about to tell her was far more important than he was letting on. “I was partner in an international security firm. I managed the London office, and the people upstairs are the team I was in charge of. They’ve come here to help us get to the bottom of your situation. They want me to come back.” He sounded bewildered.
“The whole team are here? All of them?” Isobel was horrified. “They’re here like this is a proper job? I can’t afford to hire a security team. You have to send them away.”
“Mum,” Jack said.
“No, Jack, you know I’m right. I can’t owe anyone else. I can’t.” She looked at Callum. “Send them away.”
“No. We need them, and you don’t have to pay anything.”
She balked. “You’re paying?” She shook her head. “I can’t allow that. Things are complicated enough between us without involving money.”
“Nobody’s paying, you damn stubborn woman. They’re doing it…out of the kindness of their hearts. I think. It doesn’t matter. They don’t want money. And they’re the best in the business. Trust me. We need them, and they will find out what’s going on here.” He took a step towards Isobel, and she felt the room shrink until it was filled with only him. “These people will watch our backs. You and your kids are still in danger. To send them away would be gross stupidity.”
“You think I’m stupid?” Seriously? He was insulting her? Now? When she was barely holding it together?
“I didn’t say that.” The vein in his temple began to throb. “But you don’t have the common sense God gave a goldfish.”
Isobel put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Take that back. That’s just rude.”
Jack cleared his throat. “You two want to remember there are kids in the room?”
Isobel groaned. “We’re having an adult discussion here, Jack.”
“You might be. He’s trying to get back into your pants.”
“Jack!” Isobel put her face in her hands.
“Don’t talk to your mother like that,” Callum said. “If you have a problem with me, be a man and talk to me about it. I’m more than happy to clear things up for you.”
“Callum!” Isobel glared back at him, but he was engaged in a stare-off with her son. “That’s it.” Isobel shoved Callum towards the stairs out of the basement. “Go talk to your friends. I’ll be up once Sophie’s fed.” Callum walked away reluctantly. Isobel didn’t care. She stalked over to Jack and took his phone. “You go too. Eat upstairs. I’ve had enough of both of you. Sophie and I need some testosterone-free time.”
“Mum,” Jack whined.
She pointed at the stairs. “Now!”
With a sigh that was Oscar-worthy, Jack followed Callum.
“You better have food up there,” he said to Callum’s back.
“No guarantee,” Callum said. “Ryan’s here. He could have eaten everything by now.”
Jack muttered something, but Isobel was past caring about them. She waited until the door slammed shut behind the pair before she turned to Sophie, who grinned widely.
“I like Clam,” she said.
Isobel groaned. She pulled yesterday’s sweatshirt on over the T-shirt she’d borrowed from Callum and hung like a dress on her. Until her sisters brought replacements, she was stuck wearing jeans with grass stains on the knees. She closed her eyes briefly and fought to block out the worries that were pressing in on her. Everything she owned was gone. Everything she’d worked so hard for, the home she’d tried to build for her kids, all of it was gone.
She wanted to crumple in a heap and sob until she faded away. She wanted to throw up her hands and scream that she was giving up. She was tired of struggling to get back up every time she was knocked down. She was tired of all of it. Of owing money she hadn’t borrowed. Of trying to keep enough food in her house. Of making repairs to a house she didn’t even own, and coaxing another mile out of a car that was on the verge of suicide because it couldn’t take anymore either.
And now, here she was, living in the bunker basement of the town’s most notorious resident. Relying on a man she barely knew, while she waited to find out if her latest sexual indiscretion would follow her through life. She placed a hand low on her belly. She couldn’t even think about that now. There were dangerous men after her, a loan shark who wanted her to pay off the debt on her back, and she was so damn tired of dealing with everything by herself.
“I want milk,” Sophie announced.
Isobel looked at her innocent, smiling daughter, who was treating this whole thing like a big adventure. “I’ll get you some milk, baby.” She crossed the room to the fridge.
And then she’d make breakfast. And then she’d call her sisters and get supplies. And then she’d see what she could salvage from her house. And then…
…she’d keep going.
Because that was what she did.
“If you have issues with this situation between me and your mother, you take them up with me,” Callum said as soon as the basement door had closed behind Jack.
“I already told you my issues. You said you weren’t going to string her along, but I see how you look at her. You need to back off.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to reassure the boy that he had no intention of going anywhere near his mother. Instead, he said, “This is between me and your mother. I have no intention of treating her with anything other than respect. Which is what you need to do too. Which means watching what you say to her. She’s an adult. She deserves a personal life.”
“And I suppose you think that personal life means you.” Jack puffed out his chest. “She’s had enough of men who use her and walk out. I’m not going to let that happen again.”
“You have no idea what I intend to do, boy.”
“You telling me that you’re planning a happy-ever-after with
her?” Jack barked a mirthless laugh. “Yeah, right.”
“I don’t know what I’m planning, and neither do you, so back off.”
“Like you’re the type of guy who’d take on a woman with two kids. A woman with no house, no money, no prospects. What does she have to offer you except sex? Huh? Guess that’s enough to keep your interest.”
Before Callum could think about it, his fist curled into Jack’s shirt and he had him pressed up against the wall. “Don’t make me take you outside and teach you a lesson. You will talk about your mother with respect and you will stay out of her personal life. Got it?”
“No.” The boy was brave and stupid. “Until you prove you aren’t going to use her and run, you can teach me as many lessons as you like, but I won’t butt out. I’ll be watching every single thing you do. And when you hurt her, when you abandon her, I’m going to teach you a lesson. Or, more likely, die trying.”
Damn if Callum didn’t like this kid. “That’s between you and me. But you keep your comments to yourself around your mother. That’s non-negotiable. She’s dealing with enough.”
Jack searched Callum’s eyes for a long moment before nodding. “You can tell your bodyguards to back off. I’ll keep this between us, and you can bet I’m watching every move you make around her. I know where you sleep. If I can’t get at you when you’re awake, I’ll get you then.”
Callum released Jack and stepped back, only to find Dimitri, Ryan and Megan forming a line behind him.
“Having problems, boss?” Ryan asked.
“I’m not your boss,” Callum snapped. “And this is between me and the boy.”
“Stop calling me boy,” Jack told him as he pushed past the group and headed for the kitchen. “Or I’m going to start calling you old man.”
The team watched him go.
“I like him,” Megan said. “Reminds me of someone else I know.” She tapped her chin. “Mmm, who could it be?”
“Get in the kitchen. We have a job to discuss.” Callum strode past her.
“I think the boss is a bit grumpy,” Dimitri whispered as they followed.
“Guess he isn’t getting any,” Ryan whispered back.
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